


Ill Timing

by TheSpaceCoyote



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Alpha!Jack, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Omega!Rhys, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sickfic, jack being somewhat decent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 11:32:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6802006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSpaceCoyote/pseuds/TheSpaceCoyote
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Truth be told, the kid looked like absolute shit. Yeah, Jack hadn’t seen him that often as is, but enough times to know that the wrinkled and unkempt clothes were not normal. The omega’s visible skin was bright red on the forehead and cheeks, pale and waxy everywhere else. A faint sheen of sweat stood out in his face, dark bags hanging underneath his rheumy eyes. Rhys rubbed at the raw, wet skin underneath his nose, taking in a shaky, hoarse breath as he tried to look composed for the alpha before him. The kid in his arms was in no better shape, curled up in pale blue pajamas, sniffling and fussing softly against the omega’s chest. </p><p>'What’s the matter with you, cupcake?' Jack stated, maybe a bit more harshly than he meant, but the smell of distressed omega was making him agitated. The little noises the kid was making weren’t helping either."</p><p>---</p><p>Cyrus and Rhys are both very sick. Jack helps out. Single Dad AU side story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ill Timing

**Author's Note:**

> Done for this prompt: "Can I request some single Dad AU fluff? Both Rhys and Cyrus come down with the flu. Jack sees them both at the doctor or pharmacy or something, and helps them home because Rhys has a temp of like 103 and it's a miracle he's still standing, let alone carrying a small, sick child. And then, of course, Jack takes care of them both."
> 
> It kind of got away from me, lol. Be prepared for super fluffy Jack, though I tried to still give him a bit of a bite/ego.

Jack really hated the hospitals on Helios. 

He hated hospitals in general, but even though the pristine, advanced clinics on Helios were a sight better than any bloodied, patchwork death-stench of a facility on Pandora or anywhere else, Jack still hated them.

He wasn’t here because he wanted to be, he was here because his damn intelligence agents couldn’t tell their ass from a black hole when it came to dealing with spies within Hyperion. Sure, they were great at beating the hell out of anyone who was caught in defiance of Jack, but past that they turned into a group of fumbling idiots. They’d wanted to keep this particular sucker alive for questioning, even though anything they could wring from him could probably also be dragged out of someone who was currently pissing Jack off  _less_ , but the team had the audacity to stick the guy in the hospital—albeit guarded—instead of plugging a bullet into his skull. 

So Jack was here to strangle the bastard himself and just be done with it. No point in dragging it out, and  _clearly_  he couldn’t leave it to anyone else to actually do their job. 

He was standing at the front desk, thoroughly terrifying the beta receptionist as he desperately tried to pull up the information on the man Jack had requested, when a familiar face caught his eye near the pharmacy counter. 

Tall, long-legged, dressed in black and blue and red—it was Rhys, the omega from the meeting. Jack could see he was holding something—Cyrus, from the little yellow shoes dangling from under Rhys’ arm. Jack frowned, wondering what the hell the two of them were doing in the hospital. At the pharmacy, but—still.

“Sir?” The beta receptionist, started, but Jack wasn’t listening, thoughts suddenly far-flung from the man he had come here to kill. He stalked away from the front desk, making a beeline towards Rhys, who was turned away, completely unaware of the alpha’s presence until the man was practically breathing down his neck. At that point, Rhys did turn his head slightly, nostrils flaring as he took in the alpha’s scent. His eyes widened not a moment later as he realized just who had come up from behind him. The omega started, the child in his arms shifting and whining uncomfortably at the sudden movement. 

“H-Handsome Jack, sir, um…c-can I do something for you?” The omega spluttered weakly, the hand that wasn’t holding his son coming up to flatten down his frazzled hair, trying to put himself together in the presence of his boss as Jack looked him up and down. 

Truth be told, the kid looked like absolute  _shit_. Yeah, Jack hadn’t seen him that often as is, but enough times to know that the wrinkled and unkempt clothes were not normal. The omega’s visible skin was bright red on the forehead and cheeks, pale and waxy everywhere else. A faint sheen of sweat stood out in his face, dark bags hanging underneath his rheumy eyes. Rhys rubbed at the raw, wet skin underneath his nose, taking in a shaky, hoarse breath as he tried to look composed for the alpha before him. The kid in his arms was in no better shape, curled up in pale blue pajamas, sniffling and fussing softly against the omega’s chest. 

“What’s the matter with you, cupcake?” Jack stated, maybe a bit more harshly than he meant, but the smell of distressed omega was making him agitated. The little noises the kid was making weren’t helping either. 

“N-Nothing sir. Just a little cold.” 

“Cut the formalities. You can barely stand.” Rhys shook his head, his absent swaying suddenly stiffening. Jack raised his eyebrow, giving the omega a stern look.

“It’s not…no, it’s not that bad…”

“You saying I’m wrong? That’s not a smart move, pumpkin.”

“No, sir, I mean…”

“Call me Jack. And look, I’ve seen more dead bodies than you have hairs on that cute little head, so you might want to take my word for it when I tell you you look like a fuckin’ corpse.” Jack crossed his arms, appraising the omega, waiting for him to respond, give him an excuse for stumbling around half-dead in public with a dozen hungry alphas just waiting to jump at any omegas that showed the slightly peak in vulnerability. 

Rhys’ crumbling expression looked conflicted, mouth opening and closing dumbly as he struggled for words. His shoulders sunk, posture deflating into one both guarded and feeble. 

“Cyrus is sick…” Rhys’ voice was low, his eyes falling to the child in his arms as he carefully tucked the boy’s blanket more tightly around him. “I-it’s my fault, I was sick first…I can’t…t-there’s no one…no one else to help take care of him…” The omega’s breath hitched, teeth digging into his lip as he struggled to retain his composure in front of his boss. “My friends are all busy and there’s no…it’s just me.” Rhys sniffled, free hand rubbing at his eyes as he tried to wipe away the coming tears. Jack scowled, more angry at himself this time than Rhys now that the omega was crying. He reached out, tugging the omega’s hand away from his face and replacing it with his own, thumb rubbing at the wet, delicate skin under Rhys’ eye.

“All right, all right, calm down, kitten. No need for the waterworks.” Jack hummed, voice falling to a deep register, the timbre one that he knew tended to resonate the best with omegas. As if on cue, he could feel Rhys relax against his hand, a soft sigh escaping the omega’s lips as he leaned slightly into Jack’s touch. The alpha winced at just how  _hot_  the man was—it was almost like heat-fever, but Rhys didn’t smell like arousal and fertility, just sickness and acid and grime and distress. 

“You get a doctor to look at you and the kid? That why you’re here?”

“Y-Yeah, they prescribed some medicine, I was just waiting to pick it up.” Rhys sniffled, clutching at his child and pliant enough in sickness to let Jack lead him over to one of the chair, carefully pushing the omega to sit down. 

“All right, you and the kid stay here, Jack’s going to get you guys what you need, ‘kay?” The alpha patted Rhys on the cheek before striding confidently up to the pharmacy counter, bypassing the line, smirking at how the mumbles of annoyance quickly turned to fearful gasps. The pharmacist at the counter fumbled with the pill bottles, dropping them twice before sealing them into a paper bag and gingerly handing it off to Jack. 

When he got back to the omega, Rhys looked on the verge of passing out, his head resting sideways against his shoulder, eyelids fluttering. Concern briefly spiked through the alpha as he shook Rhys’ shoulder once, insistently calling out his name and starting the omega awake. The confused, sad look in the man’s eyes as he woke up tugged at the alpha’s instincts. Fuck, this kid really was sick. Jack took a grim look at the packaging of the medication, before looking back at the omega. 

“This isn’t the kind of stuff they prescribe for ‘just a cold,’ sweetheart.” The alpha growled, dangling the packet in front of the omega’s dazed eyes. Rhys frowned.

“I….it’s all my fault…” The omega’s expression crumbled miserably, holding the sick child closer to his chest with an exhausted sob. 

The pitiful display was more than Jack could handle. He secured Rhys’ hands around Cyrus waist, pocketing the medication before sliding both hands underneath the omega and picking him up. The kid was tall and long-legged for an omega, but fairly light, putting up only a token resistance before relaxing into the weight and musk of the alpha.

“Sir…you don’t, you don’t…it’s not…” The feverish omega protested as Jack whisked him and Cyrus out of the hospital, the crowds parting around him with soft murmurs that were quickly quieted. 

“Don’t you start. There’s a thousand people who would  _kill_  to be you right now, cupcake, being the sweet damsel getting saved by Handsome Jack himself. So you just lay there, look pretty and be grateful when you’re less uh,  _dying_ , okay?” Rhys quieted, eyes glassy as he leaned into Jack’s chest, spacing out against the alpha’s heavy scent and letting himself be carried. Not as if he had any choice, the alpha thought. The omega was weak as a kitten, barely able to keep the secure hold he had on his son.

Rhys didn’t question where the alpha was leading him, which Jack was somewhat grateful for, considering he just wanted to get Rhys and Cyrus somewhere safe with little fuss to slow them down. It wasn’t until they were standing in front of the bright yellow elevator up to Jack’s penthouse that the omega resisted, letting out a soft noise of confusion at the sight. 

“T-This…this isn’t our apartment…” Rhys stuttered, glassy eyes swinging over the door, his brows furrowing as he tried to think. “Wh…what are we doing here.” Rhys suddenly looked at the alpha fearfully, wriggling slightly in Jack’s arms. “You’re…not going to kill us, are you?”

“Fucking—what is it with you thinking I wanna kill you and the kid? I mean…yeah, all right, I guess I get where you’re coming from, but…” Jack shifted Rhys slightly, so he could punch the proper numbers and scan his fingerprints in the elevator’s display. “ _Anyway,_  I ain’t going to kill you or the kid. We’re just gonna get you in Jack’s big old bed until you two feel better, ‘kay?”

Rhys nodded, his addled brain already forgetting what he was so upset about as he leaned against Jack’s chest, his eyes closing and body relaxing as the elevator took them to Jack’s penthouse. The alpha had hoped, deep down, that the first time he showed Rhys his home would be a bit more….glamorous, and less filled with drool and snot, but whatever, it’s not like Rhys would even remember this. 

He carried the omega through the living room and into his bedroom, tearing aside the rucked sheets before laying him down against it. Rhys eyes fluttered briefly, letting out a soft whine when Jack removed Cyrus from his arms. The alpha hushed him softly, placing the child under the blankets next to Rhys, close enough that the omega was still comforted by the presence of his son. Cyrus fussed softly, quieting only when the alpha shed his jacket and placed it lightly around the boy’s body. The child curled into the coat with a quiet murmur, snuggling the fabric as Jack wet a couple of hand towels from the bathroom in cold water. 

Cyrus was shifting uncomfortably when the alpha returned, but overall resting far better than his father. He placed a small cool rag on Cyrus’ forehead, before rubbing another against Rhys’ skin, growling low at the heat the man was giving off and the quiet, pained sound that escaped his lips. 

The soft way he was tending to the man and his son should have made Jack shudder in self-disgust. Handsome Jack the CEO didn’t do tenderness. Handsome Jack the alpha, though, was currently overwhelmed with instincts, flushed with a need to tend to the sick omega. A need only sharpened by every little distress call that whimpered from the Rhys’ lips. 

Jack made to rise as the towel warmed against the omega’s skin, when a hand shot out from under the sheets, slapping uselessly at Jack’s thigh before gripping loosely against his pants. Jack started, eyes following the pale hand grasping his leg down to the omega’s face, his eyes still glassy even with the intensity with which he stared at Jack. 

“I…I…d-don’t…Jack, don’t…” Rhys babbled, the words slow and fumbling in his mouth. He licked his lips, trying to damp his dry mouth. 

“Don’t what, sugar?” Jack murmured, carefully taking Rhys hand and trying to set it back onto the bed, but Rhys’ fingers laced between the alpha’s, holding him a death grip that belied the man’s weak state. 

“Don’t….you can’t  _leave_ …” Rhys eyes were bright, swimming with unshed tears. “Everyone leaves…don’t leave…I need…I can’t do it…I c-can’t do it alone.” The omega sniffled, scrunching his eyes shut as he buried his face into the pillow, trying to disguise his delirious sobs. 

Jack swore inwardly as the omega’s cries and pitiful state tugged insistently at his most base instincts. He sat back down on the bed, petting Rhys’ hair, curling his fingers into the man’s tousled bedhead. 

“All right. I get it. I ain’t leaving you and the kiddo until you guys are better, ‘kay?” He continued to play with the hairs on the back of the omega’s neck, wary of his sensitive bonding site, as tempting as it was. Instead he pressed a little kiss under Rhys’ eye, calming him down until he slipped into an uneasy sleep, but sleep nonetheless. 

It was a full day before Cyrus’ fever passed, Rhys’ lasted for another eight hours or so as Jack made sure to get water and medicine past the omega’s dry lips. Cyrus remained snuggled against his father, tiny arms wrapped protectively around Rhys as best as he could as he sniffled. Jack stayed close by the both of them, ensuring the kid that soon enough, the omega would open his eyes and when he did the two of them would be right there waiting, not leaving his side. 


End file.
